New to Lexus and forum!! Got a question....
03-01-12, 03:37 AM
#16
Lexus Test Driver
Yup, it only takes 10 minutes. < Which is why I suggest doing it every 15k miles, it's cheap insurance to make sure the transmission stays in good shape. Plus, it's easier than the engine oil change. lol
03-01-12, 04:34 AM
#17
There are other methods to get the remaining fluid out of the other nooks and crannys in the transmission, but a drain and fill is that simple.
Keep in mind that the transmission holds a total of approximately 9 quarts of fluid, and what you are doing when you do a drain and fill is basically draining what is in the pan only. In order to get a more thorough "change out of the fluid" if you will, one typically would do drain and fill, and drive 100 miles or so, and then do another drain and fill then. That method gets most of the fluid in the trans refreshed, and it is the easiest to do as well.
03-01-12, 07:42 PM
#18
Rookie
Thread Starter
No dropping the pan or anything correct? This sounds pretty simple. AGAIN...I appreciate all the help. I have made a list of things that I am going to do or have done(timing belt, water pump, hyd tensioner, lower tensioner pulley,plugs, serpentine belt is all going to be done by mechanic). Do any of you believe in engine vac's? What about the coil packs(change the 3 in back since he will already be there)?
03-01-12, 07:43 PM
#19
Rookie
Thread Starter
Keep in mind that the transmission holds a total of approximately 9 quarts of fluid, and what you are doing when you do a drain and fill is basically draining what is in the pan only. In order to get a more thorough "change out of the fluid" if you will, one typically would do drain and fill, and drive 100 miles or so, and then do another drain and fill then. That method gets most of the fluid in the trans refreshed, and it is the easiest to do as well.
Thank you for informing me of this. It now makes since to add the 4 and drive a little and do the change again.....and repeat process when needed!
03-02-12, 12:08 PM
#20
Lexus Test Driver
No dropping the pan or anything correct? This sounds pretty simple. AGAIN...I appreciate all the help. I have made a list of things that I am going to do or have done(timing belt, water pump, hyd tensioner, lower tensioner pulley,plugs, serpentine belt is all going to be done by mechanic). Do any of you believe in engine vac's? What about the coil packs(change the 3 in back since he will already be there)?
Good question about the coil packs. Personally I wouldn't change them, since they are expensive. Why change something, if it isn't broken? lol
All of my coil packs are original at 173k miles, and my uncle has all original coil packs at ~380k miles. But, other's have had fail at much lower miles.
03-03-12, 10:43 AM
#22
On the tranny fluid change.....when I bought mine I found that the tranny fluid was dark..but not burnt. I had verified with the dealer that it had the recommended tranny service done.( It had 130K when I bought it) I decided to use the recommendation on the CL link and do the drain and fill change out several times till the fluid stayed pink. I also decided to drop the pan and clean out the sludge in the bottom of the pan(mine had a lot) as well as cleaning and inspecting the magnets being careful to put the magnets back in the exact same spot they were removed from.
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck
03-03-12, 11:23 AM
#23
Rookie
Thread Starter
On the tranny fluid change.....when I bought mine I found that the tranny fluid was dark..but not burnt. I had verified with the dealer that it had the recommended tranny service done.( It had 130K when I bought it) I decided to use the recommendation on the CL link and do the drain and fill change out several times till the fluid stayed pink. I also decided to drop the pan and clean out the sludge in the bottom of the pan(mine had a lot) as well as cleaning and inspecting the magnets being careful to put the magnets back in the exact same spot they were removed from.
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck
1) what is CL link?
2) when did you drop the pan? At the beginning of the drain and fills?
3) did you buy a new gasket or use "gasket in a can"
4) do you have to remove any cross braces to remove pan
For anyone asking or wondering if I really need to do any maitenance on this vehicle because I have asked so many questions, we bought it last week and I have worked 12 hour nights since then, so I haven't had time to visit with the wife much less mechanic.
03-03-12, 11:27 AM
#24
Lexus Test Driver
Ok, appreciate the help and have a couple of questions:
1) what is CL link?
2) when did you drop the pan? At the beginning of the drain and fills?
3) did you buy a new gasket or use "gasket in a can"
4) do you have to remove any cross braces to remove pan
For anyone asking or wondering if I really need to do any maitenance on this vehicle because I have asked so many questions, we bought it last week and I have worked 12 hour nights since then, so I haven't had time to visit with the wife much less mechanic.
1) what is CL link?
2) when did you drop the pan? At the beginning of the drain and fills?
3) did you buy a new gasket or use "gasket in a can"
4) do you have to remove any cross braces to remove pan
For anyone asking or wondering if I really need to do any maitenance on this vehicle because I have asked so many questions, we bought it last week and I have worked 12 hour nights since then, so I haven't had time to visit with the wife much less mechanic.
03-04-12, 04:04 PM
#25
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: GA
Posts: 17
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Flush the tranny
My son's 2001RX had a total catastrophic tranny failure costing $4300 and of course was out of town. No warning or slippage and had already drained and filled twice, so don't count on that.
105k miles.
I agree that dropping the pan will give you an idea of metal particles, but in other forums it was mentioned that deposits and gunk don't come off without flushing and leads to total failure of torque converter. My transmission mechanic also recommended an additional and inexpensive air cooler for tranny fluid in front of radiator. If this occurs, have the parts upgraded to a better quality transmission which are readily available. It's so common he keeps the parts in stock. The tranny; now runs perfect and shifts even smoother. It may be of help to have a good local, non-Lexus transmission shop evaluate this potential issue for you.
I dropped the oil pan to fix a small oil leak and found a lot of carbonation and some sludge even after engine flushed and drained, so I would recommend engine flush and drain twice with cheap oil. You'll be amazed how dirty the second flush is. My car had been well cared for, too. You'll need Lexus gasket maker for oil pan.
When brakes need replacing LexMex recommended Akebono's which do not queak like Lexus pads did. They worked well for me. Don't forget cabin filter, ours had leaves etc.
105k miles.
I agree that dropping the pan will give you an idea of metal particles, but in other forums it was mentioned that deposits and gunk don't come off without flushing and leads to total failure of torque converter. My transmission mechanic also recommended an additional and inexpensive air cooler for tranny fluid in front of radiator. If this occurs, have the parts upgraded to a better quality transmission which are readily available. It's so common he keeps the parts in stock. The tranny; now runs perfect and shifts even smoother. It may be of help to have a good local, non-Lexus transmission shop evaluate this potential issue for you.
I dropped the oil pan to fix a small oil leak and found a lot of carbonation and some sludge even after engine flushed and drained, so I would recommend engine flush and drain twice with cheap oil. You'll be amazed how dirty the second flush is. My car had been well cared for, too. You'll need Lexus gasket maker for oil pan.
When brakes need replacing LexMex recommended Akebono's which do not queak like Lexus pads did. They worked well for me. Don't forget cabin filter, ours had leaves etc.
03-04-12, 04:21 PM
#26
Rookie
Thread Starter
My son's 2001RX had a total catastrophic tranny failure costing $4300 and of course was out of town. No warning or slippage and had already drained and filled twice, so don't count on that.
105k miles.
I agree that dropping the pan will give you an idea of metal particles, but in other forums it was mentioned that deposits and gunk don't come off without flushing and leads to total failure of torque converter. My transmission mechanic also recommended an additional and inexpensive air cooler for tranny fluid in front of radiator. If this occurs, have the parts upgraded to a better quality transmission which are readily available. It's so common he keeps the parts in stock. The tranny; now runs perfect and shifts even smoother. It may be of help to have a good local, non-Lexus transmission shop evaluate this potential issue for you.
I dropped the oil pan to fix a small oil leak and found a lot of carbonation and some sludge even after engine flushed and drained, so I would recommend engine flush and drain twice with cheap oil. You'll be amazed how dirty the second flush is. My car had been well cared for, too. You'll need Lexus gasket maker for oil pan.
When brakes need replacing LexMex recommended Akebono's which do not queak like Lexus pads did. They worked well for me. Don't forget cabin filter, ours had leaves etc.
105k miles.
I agree that dropping the pan will give you an idea of metal particles, but in other forums it was mentioned that deposits and gunk don't come off without flushing and leads to total failure of torque converter. My transmission mechanic also recommended an additional and inexpensive air cooler for tranny fluid in front of radiator. If this occurs, have the parts upgraded to a better quality transmission which are readily available. It's so common he keeps the parts in stock. The tranny; now runs perfect and shifts even smoother. It may be of help to have a good local, non-Lexus transmission shop evaluate this potential issue for you.
I dropped the oil pan to fix a small oil leak and found a lot of carbonation and some sludge even after engine flushed and drained, so I would recommend engine flush and drain twice with cheap oil. You'll be amazed how dirty the second flush is. My car had been well cared for, too. You'll need Lexus gasket maker for oil pan.
When brakes need replacing LexMex recommended Akebono's which do not queak like Lexus pads did. They worked well for me. Don't forget cabin filter, ours had leaves etc.
Did he buy it used? So are you agreeing with the people that say DON'T DO A TRANS FLUSH?
I am finally off work so I am going to the mechanic tomorrow to discuss the work I want done. Surely he won't charge me for full price on cam seal and crank seal since he will be there already
03-04-12, 04:46 PM
#27
Lexus Champion
Just to clarify, you did delete the old owner's codes from the Homelink? Salim mentioned it but it may have gotten lost in the deluge of info that has been dumped on you. 
03-05-12, 12:09 AM
#29
Seafoam through WHAT? I know there are probably people on this forum thjat swear by the stuff. To those I apologize. I think the best thing you can do with the Seafoam is drop it in the trash can, UNOPENED! Don't use that stuff in a car you have any love or respect for. One mans opinion, but I'll stick with it. It would better be named "Snake Oil" than "Seafoam".
03-05-12, 12:12 AM
#30
On the tranny fluid change.....when I bought mine I found that the tranny fluid was dark..but not burnt. I had verified with the dealer that it had the recommended tranny service done.( It had 130K when I bought it) I decided to use the recommendation on the CL link and do the drain and fill change out several times till the fluid stayed pink. I also decided to drop the pan and clean out the sludge in the bottom of the pan(mine had a lot) as well as cleaning and inspecting the magnets being careful to put the magnets back in the exact same spot they were removed from.
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck
The advantage of the pan drop is you can verify if there are metal filings etc on the magnets and starting out with a "clean slate" as a new owner. This is just my opinion and is what I did to ease my mind.
Good Luck